What’s the story?
Former India skipper MS Dhoni, who is at present with the Jharkhand squad and is set to lead them in his side’s opening Vijay Hazare Trophy game against Karnataka at the Eden Gardens on Saturday.
Ahead of that encounter, the 35-year-old was involved in a mixed practice session with the rest of the squad, as he indulged in a game of football, bowled off-spin to Ishan Kishan and then batted against pace bowlers Varun Aaron and Vikas Singh.
Speaking to the press later about his influence in the side, Ishank Jaggi said that Dhoni does not bring his stardom with him and openly shares ideas with others.
"He comes to our rooms to share his ideas with us. Mahi bhai does not carry the stardom with him. He helps me a lot. Previously my game was defensive but he asked me to change my style to survive in the international standard,” Jaggi said.
In case you didn’t know...
This is the second year in a row that Dhoni will be playing in the competition after having represented his state side just as a player in 2015, where he was the third highest run-getter for Jharkhand.
The heart of the matter
The competition is important for Dhoni as it is the only 50-over tournament he will play before embarking to England for the Champions Trophy in June. Interestingly, Jharkhand remains the only team now which Dhoni will be leading after he was replaced by Steve Smith as the Rising Pune Supergiant skipper last Sunday.
In early January, Dhoni also gave up the limited-overs captaincy, ending a nine-year reign that saw him win all the major trophies, becoming the first and the only skipper so far to achieve the feat.
This is not the first time that Dhoni has adopted a routine that involves bowling. Here’s a video of him bowling in the Team India nets a few years back:
Sportskeeda’s take
It is great to see Dhoni turning out for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Having a player like him proves to be beneficial in two ways: 1. He gets some match time which keeps him in the shape. 2. The younger players get a chance to learn from him.
Hopefully, in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy, Dhoni is able to put up a good performance, which would help Jharkhand lift the title.
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